Full-dose reirradiation combined with chemotherapy after salvage surgery significantly improved DFS, but had no significant impact on OS. An increase in both acute and late toxicity was observed.

Full-dose reirradiation combined with chemotherapy was feasible in patients with inoperable HNC. The incidence and severity of late toxicity was markedly increased in comparison to that observed after the first irradiation. Median survival was better than that generally obtained using palliative chemotherapy alone. A small proportion of patients were long-term disease-free survivors.

BACKGROUND Primary head and neck mucosal melanoma (HNMM) has a poor prognosis with a low local control rate and frequent distant metastases. The objective of the current study was to determine the impact of postoperative radiotherapy on local control and survival. METHODS One hundred forty‐two patients with primary HNMM treated between 1979 and 1997 were reviewed. Of these, 69 patients with confirmed primary mucosal melanoma, absence of metastatic disease, and definitive management by surgery with or without postoperative radiotherapy and follow‐up at the Institut Gustave‐Roussy (Villejuif) were selected. The site of primary HNMM was sinonasal in 46 patients, oral in 19 patients, and pharyngolaryngeal in 4 patients. Twenty‐two patients (32%) had a locally advanced tumor (T3–T4) and 17 patients had regional lymph node metastases after pathologic examination (pN > 0). Thirty patients underwent surgery alone and 39 received postoperative radiotherapy. Patients with locally advanced tumors had received postoperative radiotherapy more frequently than those with small tumors (P = 0.02). RESULTS Thirty‐seven patients (54%) experienced local disease recurrence and 47 patients (68%) developed distant metastasis. The overall survival rates were 47% at 2 years and 20% at 5 years. In the Cox multivariate analysis, patients with early T‐classification tumors who received postoperative radiotherapy had a better local disease‐free survival (P = 0.004 and P = 0.05, respectively) compared with patients with late T‐classification tumors who did not receive postoperative radiotherapy. Patients with advanced T‐classification and pN > 0 stage had a shorter distant metastasis disease‐free survival compared with patients with early T‐classification and pN < 0 stage. Patients with advanced T‐classification tumors had a shorter overall survival compared with patients with early T‐classification tumors (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS The prognosis of patients with HNMM was poor. Patients had a high rate of distant metastasis and a low rate of local control. The current study suggested that postoperative radiotherapy increased local control even for patients with small tumors. Cancer 2005. © 2004 American Cancer Society.

Forty patients were treated or followed up for aesthesioneuroblastoma between 1980 and 1995 at Institut Gustave Roussy, France. There were three T1; seven T2, 15 T3 and 15 T4 lesions. The cervical metastatic rate at presentation was 18 per cent. Distant metastases were detected by bone marrow biopsy and bone scan in three patients at presentation. Treatment modalities included surgery alone in eight patients, radiotherapy alone in three patients, combined modality surgery plus radiotherapy in 11 patients, chemotherapy alone in two patients, chemotherapy plus radiotherapy in 10 patients, and multimodality therapy chemotherapy plus surgery plus radiotherapy in six patients.The five-year survival rate was 51 per cent. Multimodality treatment offered better survival (63 per cent at five years) and disease-free interval (54 months). Overall local, regional, and distant failure rates were 58 per cent, 15 per cent and 40 per cent respectively. Distant metastases commonly occurred in bone (82 per cent). Cervical metastasis was an unfavourable prognostic indicator (0 per cent survival at two years).In conclusion, aesthesioneuroblastoma is sensitive to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Multimodality therapy should be used initially.